1. Wisdom from Tulku Thondup: “Loving-kindness is the essence and nature of the whole world and of every being. To see and experience this is to realize who we are. We can all observe that, if someone is in a quiet, undisturbed place for example, in nature he or she will become more peaceful. The more peaceful that person becomes, the more joyful, wise, and helpful they will be to others. That is a clue that our human nature in its normal, undisturbed state is not violent or harmful, but loving.”

2. Dharma for a Traumatized World on Lion’s Roar. “The cause of our global suffering is forgetting that we belong to one another and to the earth. Tara Brach recommends four practices to nourish a sense of collective belonging.”

3. A Simple Pie. “Gratitude washed over me: for modern medicine that shrinks tumors and gives back possibility; for my amazing body that keeps on going, that can start over from such weakness to strengthen again bit by bit; for this tradition and practice of baking for another holiday season; for my place in it all.”

4. Unravel Your Year workbook and Find Your Word ebook from Susannah Conway, (free!). “Filled with questions, insightful prompts, calendar pages and so much more, it’ll help you take stock of the year that’s ending and prepare you for a new ride around the sun. PLUS! You’ll also get the Find Your Word ebook to help you uncover your power word for 2023!”

5. One Idea Books & Gifts, Alexandra Franzen’s new store. “We specialize in books—written by women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ authors—and unique, memorable, hand-crafted gifts.”

6. #50. English ivy, and a goodbye: On endings, a final post on Bulletin from Jonny Sun.

7. The 10 Best Books of 2022 on The New York Times. In related news, The Non-Comprehensive Non-Exhaustive List Of Cool Stuff I Liked In The Year 2022 from Chuck Wendig on Terrible Minds, and Favorite Books of 2022 from Maria Popova on The Marginalian, and Books for Everyone on Your List, and 14th Annual Goodreads Choice Awards.

8. The Chills at Will Podcast with Robert Jones Jr. (video version) in which podcast host Pete discusses with Robert about “the festive national Book Awards 2022, his early reading of comic books, his life-changing exposure to James Baldwin’s work, his incredible Son of Baldwin platform, a dearth of representation for Black queer people that led him to write the book he wanted to read, the wonderful literary community and its inspiration for his work, and the work of art that is The Prophets, with its myriad standout lines, memorable characters, and structure that makes it a true classic and work of art.”

9. The Creativity Talks Podcast Episode 18: Coherence and Creativity (video version). “Crystal chats with Fabeku Fatunmise, artist, writer, author, spiritual practitioner, community builder, and business consultant focusing on building businesses that work and feel like home. They discuss the idea of “cohering” and how it applies to the creative process and life.”

10. Good stuff from Seth Godin: “You’re right” and Don’t let a story get in the way.

11. Modern Love: ‘How Much Was That?’ on The New York Times. “A family obsessed with the cost of things learns a stark lesson in what’s priceless.”

12. Why I’m Done Using And Boosting AI Art from Chuck Wendig on Terrible Minds.

13. 11 things with cognitive dissonance making an appearance at the 3.5 mark from Jena Schwartz.

14. 7 Things You Definitely Won’t Need This Year (or ever again) from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

15. The Secret to Happiness, According to This Harvard Professor: A Reverse Bucket List. “If you want to be truly happy, don’t just think about what to add to your life, but about what to take away.”

16. The ‘Limbo Box’ Method Helped Me Get Rid of Stuff Without Regrets.

17. Good stuff from Austin Kleon: The bookends approach to reading and The art of imperfection.

18. On Witness and Respair: A Personal Tragedy Followed by Pandemic by Jesmyn Ward. “The acclaimed novelist lost her beloved husband—the father of her children—as COVID-19 swept across the country. She writes through their story, and her grief.” I probably shared this when it was published two years ago, but it’s worth reading again.

19. 16 Signs You Were Raised by a Highly Critical Parent. First on the list? “Frequent criticism early in life can make it hard to trust yourself.” *sigh*

20. Understanding Fight, Flight, Freeze, and the Feign Response: A Reframe of Fawn to Feign.

21. The Cruel Spectacle of ‘The Whale’ from Roxane Gay on The New York Times.

22. A 28-year-old woman who’s lived in LA and Hong Kong gave up city life to renovate a cottage in the forest alone.

23. Georgian Culture and Ukrainian Pride Highlight the 2022 Tbilisi Mural Fest.

24. 25-year-old Arkansas woman is spreading kindness to strangers one hand-written letter at a time.

1. Tim Conway reveals joke that made Harvey Korman wet his pants on ‘The Carol Burnett Show’. Growing up, this was one of my favorite shows, probably the origin of my love for comedy, especially from funny women. I loved when they broke character and made each other laugh (this skit in particular), which may be the origins of my love for bloopers and gag reels.

2. Buzz stops: bus shelter roofs turned into gardens for bees and butterflies. “Bee bus stops first appeared in the Dutch city of Utrecht. Now the UK is planning for more than 1,000 and there is growing interest across Europe and in Canada and Australia.”

3. Watch: Lioness, four cubs create ‘cutest traffic jam ever’. “Recent footage captured in South Africa’s Kruger National Park shows a momma lion gracefully leading four cubs along a paved road while tourists follow closely behind.”

4. 36 Cozy and Feel-Good Fantasy and Sci-Fi Books. In related news, 14 Recommended Poetry Collections for Winter 2022, and Our 23 Favorite LGBTQ+ Books of 2022, and The Best Art Books of 2022.

5. Kindred Official Trailer (2022). (video) “Based on the best selling novel by Octavia E. Butler comes FX’s Kindred, all episodes streaming 12.13. Only on Hulu.” Octavia Butler is one of my favorite authors and I’m so excited they are starting to adapt some of her work to film, and the trailer for this looks so promising, so good.

6. Recipes I want to try: Slice & Bake Coconut Shortbread Cookies, and Circus Animal Blondies, and BBQ Chicken Pizza Tacos.

7. Studying the genetics and evolution of dogs’ friendliness. “You’ve heard of survival of the fittest, but a scientist at Duke University says the term that may best describe dogs’ evolutionary success is survival of the friendliest.”

8. TikTok star Noodle the pug dies at age 14. “Noodle won over the internet with nearly daily videos of a game called ‘no bones.’ Graziano would hoist Noodle out of his bed and if the pug flopped back down, it was a ‘no-bones’ day, warning people to take it easy and avoid risks. If he remained standing, it was a ‘bones’ day, encouraging people to take risks and indulge.”

9. How Do AI Art Generators Create Original Artwork? “Can Machines Create Art That Is Truly Unique and Original?”

10. Am I Still a Real Writer If I Don’t Feel Compelled to Write?

11. A Therapist Explains 5 ‘Thinking Errors’ That Lead to Overthinking.

12. The Cult of Thinness Is Making a Depressing Comeback. “For those of us who remember Slim Fast, Weight Watchers and ‘thigh gaps’, pop culture’s return to aspirational skinniness is more than jarring.”

13. Explore the Vast Archive of the Museum of African American History and Culture Through Its New Digital Platform.

14. Meet Shauna White Bear, moccasin maker. “‘I don’t believe it’s cultural appropriation if you are purchasing from a Native artist,’ she said. ‘You’re supporting us.'”

15. Comedian Rob Delaney discusses new memoir, fatherhood, family and grief. “Comedian and actor Rob Delaney joins ‘CBS Mornings’ to discuss his new memoir ‘A Heart That Works.'”

16. Tarot Prompts for Writers. “There’s no better place to find inspiration than a character-driven tarot spread.”

17. Portland Japanese Garden is ablaze with fall colors. “With winter weather looming, it seems that fall has come and gone much too quickly. Perhaps one of the most beautiful places to see the fall colors on display is at the Portland Japanese Garden. If you weren’t able to get there this year, take a look at this video by OPB photographer Brandon Swanson, who captured the serenity and beauty in this special place.”

18. Ron Finley Project. “The Ron Finley Project is teaching communities how to transform food deserts into food sanctuaries, and teaching individuals how to regenerate their lands into creative business models. We envision and want to facilitate a world where gardening is gangsta! Gangsta: projecting strength on one’s own terms, hip, cool, innovative, revolutionary, resolute, vital, the cutting edge.”

19. Wisdom from Jami Attenberg: “Being alone is helpful for the creative process but we need to know we are loved, too, and not entirely alone in this world, that when we emerge from the creative cocoon there will be someone there waiting for us.”

20. 10 Tips to Survive Working With the Public When You’re an Introvert. If I ever have to do paid work again that isn’t teaching, I really hope it’s not working with the public. I did that for 20+ years, and it almost destroyed me.

21. What the Times is really saying is: “Fat people, go die in silence.” A twitter thread about an important topic.

22. Good stuff from Seth Godin: Confidence doesn’t help win the lottery, and When we look in the mirror, and Expertise.

23. Why Highly Sensitive Introverts Become ‘Rescuers’ — And How to Stop.

24. Creativity: It’s a Muscle.

25. Climate Action Starts in Your Own Hometown. “Turn your city into a climate sanctuary, lobby your elected officials, and try out these other ways to make change globally by acting locally.”

26. 61 Days of Festive Activities to Close Out the Year.

27. The Best Way to Deal with Dissatisfaction (It’s Not What You Think).

28. David Bird’s whimsical Becorn sculptures. 

29. Stop Trying to Be Productive. “Jenny Odell, author of ‘How to Do Nothing,’ wants you to stop giving into the pressure of getting shit done.” This article is from three years ago, but during this season in particular it’s still relevant.

30. The Art Stories Colossal Readers Loved Most in 2022.